diff --git a/makefiles/auto_init.inc.mk b/makefiles/auto_init.inc.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ed2c7dfa7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/makefiles/auto_init.inc.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Determine the list of modules that provide auto_init from the list of all
+# auto_init_xx.c files available in the current directory.
+# The rule is to have the file name matching the pattern: auto_init_<module name>.c
+AUTO_INIT_PREFIX = auto_init_
+AUTO_INIT_SRCS = $(wildcard $(AUTO_INIT_PREFIX)*.c)
+AUTO_INIT_MODULES_AVAILABLE = $(subst $(AUTO_INIT_PREFIX),,$(subst .c,,$(AUTO_INIT_SRCS)))
+
+# Compare this list against the modules used in the current build to determine
+# which auto_init_xx.c file should be added to the build
+AUTO_INIT_MODULES_USED = $(filter $(AUTO_INIT_MODULES_AVAILABLE),$(USEMODULE))
+AUTO_INIT_MODULES_USED_SRCS = $(addprefix $(AUTO_INIT_PREFIX),$(addsuffix .c,$(AUTO_INIT_MODULES_USED)))
+
+# Set the list of files to build in the auto_init module
+SRC = init.c $(AUTO_INIT_MODULES_USED_SRCS)
+
+include $(RIOTBASE)/Makefile.base